With the NHL playoffs nearing and the races tightening the Los Angeles Kings may have to wait until the last day of the regular season to determine who their first round opponent will be. The Kings are likely locked into the sixth playoff position, but with a logjam at the top of the conference standings the Kings first round opponent is still very much undecided. If the season ended today, the Kings would face the San Jose Sharks in the opening round. The Sharks are currently third in the conference, a point behind the Anaheim Ducks and a point on top of the Colorado Avalanche. Just a point behind the Avalanche and two points behind the Sharks are the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks.

Here’s a look at the potential Kings opening round opponents:

SHARKS

San Jose Sharks: The Kings and Sharks have played five times this season with four of the five games decided by just a single goal. The Kings hold the advantage in the season series, three games to two. Two of the games have gone into overtime, with the Kings winning the opening game between the two teams in overtime and the Sharks winning the second game via a shootout. The two teams played a hotly contested second round playoff series last year, with the Kings coming out on top by having home ice advantage. Not a single road team won a game in the seven game series. The home ice advantage could prove significant for the Sharks this year who have been outstanding on home ice this year.

AVALANCHE

Colorado Avalanche: The Colorado Avalanche have been a massive surprise this season under first-year head coach Patrick Roy, the leading candidate for coach of the year in the NHL this season. The Avalanche has been on fire of late with a six-game winning streak to make a late run toward the top of the Western Conference. The Avalanche has a solid group of talented young forwards, led by center Matt Duchene and winger Gabriel Landeskog. The most exciting Avalanche player is eighteen-year-old center Nathan MacKinnon, the top overall pick in last year’s NHL entry draft. The Avalanche has played two fewer games than the Sharks and Blackhawks.

BLACKHAWKS

Chicago Blackhawks: Sitting in fifth place in the conference, but just two behind the third place Sharks, are the defending Stanley Cup champions. After a period of rough play the Blackhawks have rebounded of late and are in the midst of a three-game winning streak. Chicago has decided to sit their captain and best player Jonathan Toews for the remaining of the regular season due to an upper-body injury. The Kings and Blackhawks met in the playoffs each of the past two seasons. Los Angeles defeated Chicago in 2012 on their way to a Stanley Cup title. The Blackhawks returned the favor, defeating the Kings in five games last June on their way to a title. Chicago is the odds on favorite again to represent the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup final.

DUCKS

Anaheim Ducks: There’s an outside chance the Kings could face the Ducks in the opening round, if Anaheim somehow loses the second seed. After leading the Western Conference for the majority of the regular season, the Ducks were recently surpassed by the St. Louis Blues. With a game in hand and just three points behind the Blues, the Ducks still have an opportunity to earn home ice. If the Anaheim Ducks somehow fall to third, they’ll set up what will be a much-anticipated opening round series.

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In a week where they badly needed to pick up some key victories the Los Angeles Kings are mired in perhaps their toughest stretch of the season, going winless over the past week to run their overall losing streak to five games. After losing consecutive road games in Boston and Columbus Los Angeles returned to Sourthern California and were swept in back-to-back games by their LA rivals, the league leading Anaheim Ducks. The second of the back-to-back contests was the much anticipated outdoor game at Dodger Stadium, taken by the Ducks 3-0.

Kings Vs Ducks

Week Recap: Monday night the Kings lost a tough one in Boston to a solid Bruins team. Boston jumped on top 2-0 on first period goals by Brad Marchand and Torey Krug. The Kings fought back to tie the game on goals by Willie Mitchell and Jeff Carter, only to see Marchand score his second goal of the game just 18 seconds after Carter scored to tie the game at 2. The Bruins would hold on to the victory, and the Kings would go on to Columbus for the second half of a back-to-back. The Kings scored the first goal Tuesday night in Columbus on a tally by Dwight King only to see the Blue Jackets score consecutive first period goals by RJ Umberger and Ryan Johansen to go up 2-1. Jeff Carter notched his 20th goal of the season early in the second to tie the game at 2, but the Blue Jackets took control with three consecutive goals to put the game away. Martin Jones had a tough night in goal for the Kings. With three consecutive losses the Kings returned to Southern California for two with Anaheim. The Thursday and Saturday games were a big test and the chance for Los Angeles to make up ground on the NHL leaders. The two games, won by Anaheim via a combined score of 5-1 are an indication of just how strong of a club the Ducks have become. Anaheim is seemingly able to adapt to any opponents style, winning high scoring contests as well as gritty defensive games, like Thursday night at the Honda Center. The Kings were shut out Saturday night by the Ducks Jonas Hiller, putting the Ducks 19 points up on their division rivals.

Kings Vs

Up next for the Kings: The upcoming schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Kings. Los Angeles travels north to face the San Jose Sharks on Monday night, following by an immediate trip to Phoenix to take on the Coyotes on Tuesday night. They then round out the week by finally returning to STAPLES Center to face Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday and the Philadelpia Flyers on Saturday night. Pittsburgh’s trip to Los Angeles will give Kings fans their lone opportunity to see the universally regarded best player in hockey, Sidney Crosby. The Penguins star is on track to win yet another league MVP award this season.

Where they stand: With 64 points the Kings are in sixth place in the Western Conference, five points behind the Colorado Avalanche and twelve points behind the San Jose Sharks.

The Kings face off against the Ducks two more times at the Staples Center once on March 15th and then again on April 12! Chris Michaels

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The Los Angeles Kings continued their hot streak, winning three of four on the road, including three consecutive wins in Canada behind the play of rookie goaltender Martin Jones. The Kings six game winning streak came to an end Sunday night at the hands of the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks. The Kings return home for four games, starting Tuesday night when they host the Edmonton Oilers at STAPLES Center. You can still purchase Kings Tickets for the Tuesday game as well as the entire Kings Schedule.

KINGS Vs WILD Backup Jonathan Bernier turned aside 26 shots for his first shutout of the season to lift visiting Los Angeles over Minnesota.

Justin Williams and Anze Kopitar had a goal and an assist apiece to help the Kings climb into a tie with Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche for the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference.

Dwight King and Alec Martinez also tallied and Dustin Brown and Matt Greene contributed two assists apiece as Los Angeles won for only the second time in seven games.

Bernier had 10 saves in each of the first two periods en route to his fifth career shutout and second against Minnesota.

Williams triggered a three-goal first period when a shot by Slava Voynov deflected off his body and past Niklas Backstrom only 44 seconds into the game.

King doubled the lead by redirecting a centering pass from Kopitar nine minutes later, and Kopitar ended a nine-game goalless drought by tapping a shot into an open net with 1:22 left in the period.

Martinez supplied the only goal of the second period to give Los Angeles a commanding 4-0 lead.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Kings, who entered with a league-low 130 goals, had been limited to one goal or fewer in eight of the previous 12 games. The four-goal outburst allowed them to surpass the Wild, who came in with 133 goals. … Bernier won for the first time since Jan. 9. It was only his second start since that victory. He also blanked the Wild in Minnesota on Feb. 1, 2011.

Mark Olver scored for his third point in as many games since being recalled from Lake Erie of the American Hockey League. Jay McClement also tallied for the Avalanche, who moved to within two points of the eighth-place Kings in the Western Conference.Keep on reading!